Cosmic Strings
by ghost dream
Summary: Two contemplative smashers meet under the stars. [SSB4. Rosalina/Meta Knight friendship.]


It was one of those nights he couldn't sleep. Whether it was because of anxiety or heavy thoughts, Meta Knight couldn't tell. Regardless, he felt it was wise for him to take a walk, at the least.

The masked warrior quietly stepped out of his room. He walked down the hall to one of the rear exits on the first floor. He opened the door and gently closed it behind him, maintaining the sleepy silence of the mansion.

The air around him would have felt like a blistering chill if he did not have his cape cloaked around him. Looking around, he first noticed what seemed like thousands of stars that dotted across the cloudless, navy blue sky. It was a sight that made him feel longing; he remembered having wonderful views of the night sky like this back in Dreamland.

The back yard of the Smash mansion was a large tract of land that ended at a cliff that stretched far and wide. He caught sight of a figure near the cliff at a good distance away from him. His feet involuntarily took him closer to them. At ten feet, the figure revealed itself to be a young woman with long blonde hair. On her head was a silver crown encrusted with jewels, and she wore what appeared to be a shimmering turquoise gown. One of her hands held a simple wand with a gold star on its tip. She was an unfamiliar face here, allowing him the safe assumption that she was perhaps a new fighter. A small, glowing creature hovered beside her. It was vaguely in the shape of a star, and its only facial feature were beady black eyes. In front of them was what looked like a telescope.

The crunch of grass beneath his feet revealed his presence to the woman, causing her to turn her head towards his direction. Her nail-painted hands balled against her chest in surprise. The creature beside her squealed.

The masked warrior stopped his steps. He had a better view of her from this distance. A large bang swept over her right eye, but he could see that their colour was a glimmering aqua. He broke the silence. "I did not mean to disturb you."

The woman shook her head and her gaze on him softened. "You didn't at all. Please, don't worry. …Did you come here see the stars?"

Her voice was gentle. As he gathered in her features more, he noticed that her appearance had several parallels to Princess Peach, such as her crown, hair, and makeup. Unlike Peach, however, she evoked a rather reserved and calm aura. He stopped reflecting on these detailed matters and answered her question. "I came on my own accord. I normally do not see anyone awake at this hour."

"I see. I've been doing this ever since I got here. Watching the stars is the only way for my nerves to ease… If you'd like, you may join me." She gestured to the telescope next to her. "Here, you can look through this."

Meta Knight shook his head. Looking through the lens would be a challenge with his mask in the way. And he simply refused to take it off in any situation; he would even sleep with it on. "That won't be necessary. I am fine seeing them like this."

"I understand… Oh!" The woman gasped suddenly. She shook her head and laced her fingers together as she looked at him in the eye directly. "My apologies, sir. I did not even introduce myself. My name is Rosalina. I come from the same universe as Mario and Princess Peach. I watch over the cosmos with my Luma children. Like this little one, here," She pointed to her small companion, who made another squealing noise.

He nodded. "I am Meta Knight. I come from Dream Land; the same world that Kirby and King Dedede reside."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Meta Knight." Rosalina directed a short bow to him. "And… you said that you came from Dreamland? I actually know of that place."

This surprised him. "You do?"

"Yes, I have passed by that planet before in my Observatory ship. Twice, as a matter of fact."

He wasn't sure what to make of this information. He never recalled seeing a ship pass by his home planet; though he could give exception if the ship itself was too small to see. He also may have not been present to see it on both occasions. His suspicions were probably irrational, but what Rosalina said was hard for him to grasp because it brought about a rather unbelievable possibility about the nature of this tournament. "If what you say is true, then we live in the same universe."

"Yes, that is right… It's quite amazing, isn't it? Perhaps this entire tournament unites us more than we realise." A small smile began to form on her lips. She shifted the conversation topic a bit, after her words hung in the air when he didn't respond. "Sir Meta Knight… To tell you the truth, I have heard quite a bit about you after I first arrived here."

His eyelids raised at this under his mask. There was discussion of him even before he was re-invited to this tournament? "Is that so… Might I ask who talked about me?"

"Ah, there were a few mentions of you here. Things like 'Will Meta Knight return again?' or 'He was really strong in the last tournament.' And 'I hope he doesn't beat me!'." Being prideful, Meta Knight felt satisfied by his supposed reputation around the Smashers. Rosalina continued. "But I wasn't too sure who you really were until Peach clarified that you were in fact the winner of the last Smash Tournament. That's quite amazing. Congratulations."

He replied with a curt 'thank you' when her mention sparked a memory in his mind. He remembered the final round vividly. Snake was definitely a worthy adversary. The match against him was up there to being among the most difficult battles Meta Knight ever partaken in, despite all his years of living. However, winning the gold trophy was a bitter moment for the masked warrior. He remembered Master Hand handing it to him, and then made an off-hand mention that he was "overpowered" and that the scales heavily weighed in his favour for his victory to be deserved. Meta Knight resented such statements from him and believed his stellar performance was solely due to his hard work and dedication to the sword.

A thought occurred to him: he had never recalled seeing here here before. While he could wager that she was a new combatant, he wanted be clarified with a real answer. "I have never seen you until now. Are you a newcomer to this tournament?"

"Yes. It is an honour, being here," she said, nodding. However, her normally composed aura seemed to grow a bit unsettled. Her fingers nervously fidgeted with her wand, making it spin. "I-I must be frank, Sir Meta Knight: I am afraid. Being here, in a fighting tournament… It is something I have never done before."

"It is a feeling not unique to you. Most people here have not fought in tournaments before either."

"Um, y-yes," she replied abashedly. "That is absolutely true." Her gaze on him broke away, absently staring at her wand still spinning under the control of her uneasy fingers. "It's just… I have never had to fight anyone before. The thought of hurting another upsets me. And then there are times where I come to terms with it and I am finally able to accept my responsibly as a fighter here. But then I remember…. There are children among us. Children that I must f-fight…"

Her voice became gradually wistful as she spoke. The Luma beside her made a barely audible noise as it sparkled next to her, a concerned expression on its visage. She freed one of her hands from her wand to stroke the creature's face tenderly.

The warrior felt himself verging into an uncomfortable situation. Not only because he was not much for delivering quality consolation, but because he did not like seeing Rosalina in a state of sorrow. Before he could contemplate on what to say to her, her voice came out in a sighing breath. "I-I am terribly sorry. What I said was most unbecoming. This is not the kind of mindset to have in a place like this… B-but I can't shake off this feeling no matter what I do. I cross the line at harming children. I don't think I can give a fair fight if I have to turn my wand against them…"

He had a similar mindset when he fought in the third tournament. He remembered his first preliminary match with Ness, a young boy who seemed out of place to be in an arena. His hasty doubts on Ness' abilities were proven wrong in an embarrassing fashion, when his fearsome psychic abilities knocked Meta Knight into submission. There were many other similar-aged contenders whose harmless appearances heavily belied their power. Meta Knight soon learned his lesson and practiced to not discriminate anyone based on looks or gender. He would maintain distance and assume that everyone was an equal threat in Smash.

However, his code of honour was unshakable. Meta Knight was chivalrous to a fault, and he would not leave this aspiring woman without some form of advice. "The children you speak of are not invited to dangerous places such as this for no reason. They are top of their craft and their power matches everyone else's. Some of them even triumphs the power of those who you would consider more daunting, such as Bowser." If Meta Knight recalled correctly, Bowser was affiliated with Rosalina's world. "In the past, I have thought similarly as you. However, that line of thinking led me to many losses."

The mother of the cosmos looked at him silently, absorbing his words. He continued. "Here in this tournament, everyone is dangerous. Underestimating the people here will inevitably lead you to defeat. This tournament is full of strange individuals who endlessly surprise me. I suggest that you to to look after yourself in the battlefield, and not for others."

His advice came off a bit more brusquely than he intended, but his message was clear. Rosalina stood there, unblinking and in deep thought. After a minute of unraveling her thoughts, a deep sigh left her lips as her shoulders fell. A smile crept up on her lips, developing into a full on grin. "Sir Meta Knight," she began, and he could see her eye starting to twinkle with relief. "Your words ring true. Now is not the time or place to fret over the safety of people that I am about to fight. Surely they know what will be coming to them since they got here. And in the mean time, I will train myself to be the best fighter I can possibly be."

The Luma bounced happily, orbiting around its caretaker. It seemed now that the tension dissolved and replaced with serenity that matched the peaceful nature around them. "I am glad that you now understand," Meta Knight said. He couldn't stop his small smile behind his mask.

"I hope that in the future we can have a match together, Sir Meta Knight. Perhaps my powers will surprise you, too." It was a surprisingly playful comment coming from her. He could hardly suppress a low chuckle.

For a sudden moment, bright, flickering lights overtook his vision. Looking to the sky, he could see a bright trail above. Rosalina was the first to react. "Oh! Did you see that? A meteor!"

Just as she spoke, the streak of light faded away. "I am going to make a wish. I suggest that you make one too, Sir Meta Knight. For good luck on our battles ahead."

This was the happiest he's ever seen her so far. Her eyes seemed to glisten when they had their sight on the stars. Beside her, Meta Knight complied to her suggestion, conjuring a wish in his mind.

_I wish... we will cross paths again after this tournament is over._

* * *

UMM don't be giving me that look. Meta's going to be confirmed. no questions asked. I know it, you know it. He's practically Sakurai's baby

BUT ANYWAY wow. I guess I just dumped a fic after like two years... srry. But yeah I kind of typed this up in a period of like a week. I did the best proof-reading on my own the best i could but then it's like the more I look at it the more i don't want to publish it all together because im so embarassed...

So yeah, I hope I made them in-character as possible. i feel these two would get along well because of their quiet personalities, the fact that they have space-y setting in their homelands... also they have ships that they engineered themselves (idk about meta knight to be honest i could be wrong). I have so many headcannons when it comes to smash, it's crazy. but yeah um ok wow i'll shut up now.

thanks for reading!


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